Children of War: A Fine Line
Previous Chapter Children of War: A Fine Line Welcome to Menagerie It was an all-too familiar scene to Mose, walking through the slums of a village. Not to say he had visited Menagerie before. In a younger lifetime, he had roamed an environment like this daily. Instead of his companions Ren and Jaune, he ran with street rats who made a career out of their own survival. Back then, they aimed to steal and profit off of the populace instead of trying to help it. Back then, the people around them regarded them with scorn than fear and wariness. Back then, he was a bandit and not a Huntsman. A ghost of a smile crossed his face as he thought how things had changed. "Well, boys." He said, paying a gaze over to the two male companions as he walked. His hands were in his pockets, his gait brisk even as it matched their walking speed. "I think we've got quite a problem. Not only are we stuck here waiting on a decision for the time being, but we may or may not have to worry about the presence of Mistral authority walking on our doorstep. As of now, I'm not quite sure what they'd say if they saw Huntsman working together with officially designated targets." "That is, if they're the actual targets," Ren proffered, much to Jaune's surprise. Looking at the citizens that wandered about, doing their daily routine with only a few wary glances sent their way, a somber expression crossed the long-haired man. "These are the people of Menagerie, and I don't see a hint of rioting. If that was the case, we wouldn't just see a single port town reduced to ruin. The White Fang may be based here but this place looks far from the home of a militant radical group." "It seems weird, that the White Fang lied in wait at an abandoned port when there was probably operating ones on the other side of the island," Jaune also surmised, grasping at his own chin and rubbing it with a more pondering glint in his eyes. "They had no idea that we were Huntsmen yet were shooting to incapacitate. Most White Fang try to murder, and they're keeping us waiting here. What if they're just distracting us from their real purpose?" The pair of men looked at Mose and then gave a brief over the head shoulder. Of course they weren't alone with their musings. The Chameleon Faunus had been tracking them, with another retainer of the Fang watching over the girls of their own team. She kept a carefree mask upon her face, a smile simply placed with a hum escaping her nostrils and a skip to her step. Hands placed behind her head, she seemed to outwardly not care what they were talking about; but the dashing motion of her eyes spoke volumes to the acute glance of the Huntsmen that she was very much watching their every move. "I think we should pay a visit to the chieftain, sooner rather than later," Jaune whispered over to Mose, covering his mouth with one glove to avoid having his lips being read. "What do you say we find a way to get rid of our current company?" All of the given information made Mose's gears start turning. Ever since they got here, there was no sign of unrest. Everyone seemed to be living rather peacefully, and the only sign of distress was caused by the presence of the Hunters. The fact that harder measures weren't taken against them was also off-putting, especially considering the animosity towards both of the teams. Things just weren't adding up, and it was harder to believe that the words given to them held one-hundred percent truth. In the face of an unreliable source, they could only act. So, in response to the both of his teammates, Mose only closed his eyes and nodded slowly. He didn't speak, lest he wanted to risk Ilia being too aware of what he was about to do. But he hoped his teammates could catch on. "Y'know," He directed his voice and attention to Ilia, raising a brow at her. "As much as I appreciate a woman with a firm hold on her job," He stated. "I don't think you've been doing much outside of staring at us. You may move like you don't care. But you've been treating your eyes like a hawk's. With all due respect, I really think you should loosen up a little." At hearing this, Illia made a blinking gesture and her mouth opened. She obviously hadn't been talked at like that from humans. Given her vocation it probably had been awhile since she had spoken to anyone of the outside world in some time. Puffing up her cheeks, she glared ahead and crossed her arms as she stomped at her heels. "I do know when to relax! I'm just on duty!" "Haven't you been on duty for the past three days?" Jaune inquired with a raised brow. "I...uh...can't relent," She stammered, her eyes averting with a look of realization crossing her eyes. "This job is important. I can't let you guys out of my sight. If something went wrong, then it'd be my fault-" "We've been behaving, haven't we?" Ren inquired with a raised hand, proffering his statement thusly. "Can't you give yourself a break, if only for a little while? Why not spend some time actually being yourself?" "I am me, stupid!" "So you're always putting up a happy-go-lucky mask?" Jaune asked with a smirk. Seeing her become a bit visibly cross, he raised his hands and waved them placatingly. "Hey, it's fine. I understand how important your duty is. But, you gotta take it easy, otherwise you'll be burned out by the time something actually terrible happens. And we wouldn't want that, would we?" "I...guess not," Illia looked away, clutching at her arm, letting out a belated sigh. "Chief does want us to keep you and everyone else in line. Would it be alright to just keep a longer leash, then?" "I guess that'll have to do, though I'd prefer the leash off completely." Mose grunted in compliance. It didn't turn out like he had expected; instead of successfully diverting her attention to him so that the other two had a chance to flee, they had just gotten themselves involved in the conversation. In addition, Ilia didn't seem as stern as he had assumed - apparently. It might have been a bit too optimistic. "You've got eyes all around here, don't you?" He continued to speak, gesturing to the people around them. "I'm sure that if the populace caught a whiff of something suspect, they'd get it through to you and your bosses somehow. Even if you took your eye off us, you have plenty of others to compensate. I don't think you have to worry about messing up in any way." She looked conflicted, but hearing Mose's words they seemed to be sincere enough to warm up to her. Sighing, she smiled and cheekily looked back at them, "Okay, as long as you promise not to get into trouble, I guess I can ease up on the watching duty. But, just so long as I can come with!" "Come...with...where?" Jaune slowly asked with a cautious bewilderment. "Obviously you've been trying to find something off with Menagerie," Illia replied knowingly, crossing her arms over her chest with a mischievious glint in her eyes. "And I got the gist that's what you guys were planning when you came up to talk to me. But, I can tell you're not as bad as the other Huntsmen that attacked our port. So, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt; until the moment you confirm suspicions of you, then I'll strike without mercy." "That's fair," Ren spoke bluntly with a shrug. "So, where do you want to go?" She asked, her head darting back and forth with a wild look in her blue eyes. "I can probably guarantee I can get you pretty much anywhere, even pay the chieftain a visit! Just say the word and we'll be off!" Mose had to resist giving her - and Jaune - an incredulous stare. The only emotion he allowed was a slight widening of the eyes. It seemed too good to be true. He had been prepared to throw a hasty plan to get her away from them so that they could search for where the chieftain would be. But in hindsight, common sense would've dictated that they could've just asked to visit him. After all, she of all people would know where he was. She, of all the people here, was willing to tell them that. The possibility of a trap was also clear. But it was an idea heavily convoluted by circumstance. After all, why try to set a trap in the first place when they returned the Hunters' weapons beforehand? Unless they had high confidence in their ability to topple two teams of armed and experienced combatants, it was a flawed, pointless strategy. So, for the time being, Mose decided to humor her. He made a mental note to inform his team afterwards. "Conveniently enough," He allowed himself to speak, meeting her gaze evenly. "We were thinking of paying the chieftain a visit. It's been a few days, and I believe he may have made at least a little more progress on his decision. Is that acceptable?" "It's fine!" Illia replied, placing her hand out to shake Jaune's. "I can't promise you'll be welcome, or that you'll get a proper conclusion to whatever business you have here. But I'll at least get you that far. If you try to start trouble, I'll be forced to remove you; hope you understand that much." "That's fine with us," The blonde leader replied with a wary smile, clasping his hand over Illia's to give her a firm shake. Looking at Mose and Ren, he maintained his grin while releasing his hold on the Faunus. "No time like the present. Lead on." With Ren casting one last look back at Mose, he motioned to the weapons on their person and honed a more focused stare at the man. He knew this could go wrong in any number of ways, just as the long-haired man did. At least this was a more prime opportunity for them to capitalize. After all, trying to throw a pursuer off and then arrive would be much more suspect. In this case, they could at least have an allibi for why they approached the Chieftain at all. Still, something felt off about the whole circumstance. Were all of the Faunus in on some grand conspiracy? Was Mistral trying to cause trouble with Menagerie, or were they right to report sightings; and whose sightings were they? Omens The girls of the two team had found themselves firmly distracted in sightseeing. While a few of them kept a more business sense in trying to remain professional -reminding them all why they were here- the majority of them were just happy to be in a new location that wasn't full to burst with Grimm or bandits. Apart from the rude welcome by White Fang, they had a surprisingly easy time melding with the locals. The capital city was obviously their prime jewel of the Faunus. With a bazaar that operated as both a sign of commerce and a marketplace, the thriving central hub of the island showed just how resourceful and beautiful their culture was when banded together. It brought a sense of nostalgia to those who had known Blake, and seeing that these people could live in such a wonderful place, despite the outlying conflict, brought them assurance that coexistence could happen sometime down the line. "This place has such good food!" Nora exclaimed, gorging herself on a delectable fruit salad aligned on a massive plate in front of her. As she was shoveling a melon slice into her mouth, Pyrrha couldn't help but show a look of awe and disgust; which promptly had her slap the back of Nora's head, causing her to cough and hack. "H-Hey-!" "Don't eat like that! You're going to choke on the seeds!" "You almost made me choke on them though..." "Sorry," She apologized, producing a napkin for her to clean her face with. "Still, you should rein yourself in a bit. With Ren not here, you act a bit wild. Isn't that right, Kiarra?" A snort escaped Kiarra, and she rested a cheek in her hands while observing both Pyrrha and Nora with a vague interest. "Right, if you can call this "wild"." She sassed. "Compared to what I've seen outta Bon and Lily during our time in Beacon? This kinda pales." "Bold of you to start talking smack 'bout us while we're right beside you." Delilah commented, albeit passing an amused smirk in her teammate's direction. It made Kiarra's grin widen, and she turned to address Delilah readily. "Is it smack talk if it's true? We both know that you two can be the life of a party if you really tried. Not to mention, you two argue like a married couple. Should I even ask when?" The small talk between them was doing its best to ease her nerves, rattled as they were in the presence of the White Fang. A scoffing laugh escaped Delilah, and she casually turned her head away. "We'd last about a week, at best. I may mess with the girl and she may mess with me, but under that kind of situation? I don't think we'd last. Sorry about whatever fantasies you've got cookin', sugar." "Fantas-" Kiarra cut herself off, huffing and slapping a snickering Delilah's arm. "Shut up! Jackhole..." "Hey..." Delilah grinned toothily, turning her attention to their vertically-challenged teammate sitting on Nora's side. "Hey, Bonnie. You've been awful quiet over there. What'd you think?" At that point, Bonnie had been lost in her own train of thought and fiddling with a small bucket of ramen noodles. She almost dropped her chopsticks at the edge of Delilah's words, jerking her head in her teammates' direction. "Wha-huh?!" Delilah's smile faltered a little, but not completely. "Kiarra suggested the idea of me and you getting hitched. What do you think about that?" It faltered completely when she saw a look of mortification cross over Bonnie's expression. The smaller girl turned away, shuddering. "D-don't even joke about something like that! You, of all people?! You'd have to pay me with a lifetime supply of Lien first!" Delilah's mouth gaped open. But the sounds of Kiarra's strangled snickers caught her attention before she could respond. She fixed a glare on the blonde, who had turned away from the bar and had an arm over her eyes. "Stop laughing at me, you butt!" "I-" Kiarra was trying her hardest to maintain her composure, but she couldn't keep her voice from cracking, her body from shaking slightly and the smile off her face. "I-I'm not laughing, I'm n-not...!" Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh, finding humor in the squabbling of the girls in Mockingbird. The fact they were able to talk so frankly meant that there was true peace being had. Sure, their mission was hampered by indecision and that they needed to get moving, but there was a quaint sense of contentment had here. A sense of belonging in this moment reminded her of what it was like when she first joined Beacon. Which triggered a memory within Amber's consciousness. "This place," Pyrrha spoke, her eyes taking a more golden color and was noticed immediately by Nora. "My team...it reminds me so much of what life was like before it was taken from me." Nora made sure to finish eating before she commented. This was a rare opportunity. The Fall Maiden rarely spoke unless it was in a heat of the moment, and ordinarily that was only during combat practice back in their last semester in the academy. But now, she was speaking far more serenely, and Pyrrha had shown no signs of resistance to her emergence to the current scenario they were in. "What was it like?" Nora asked gingerly, eyeing over to the others of Mockinbird so they'd get a visual cue what was about to be talked about. "It was a lush, beautiful isle to the West of Vale. Large enough to have a host of animals, a large forest where the season of autumn always made it look like a painting on a canvas and a sea that was an enchanting green that turned gold during the Sunset. My family and home was small, quaint, but we were a happy people there. When I found out that my line had been beholden to the Fall Maiden power, I was enthusiastic to help fulfill my role into the world. Until..." "It didn't end well," Nora somberly answered, with Pyrrha's head nodding in return. The red haired woman turned to look at the others, forcing a smile and asking in return, "I can imagine that your homes were a beautiful place, for one reason or another. What brought you out of your lives and wish to become huntresses?" Of all the things expected, Amber coming out and speaking to them was not one of them. So initially, Pyrrha - Amber - had to look at varying degrees of surprise as an initial response. But it wasn't long before the awe faded, and they fell back to more comprehending looks. Unlike Bonnie and Delilah, who looked at each other in curiosity, Kiarra suddenly found a grim interest in the counter surface. "I-" "Well-" Both Bonnie and Delilah found themselves regarding each other after turning to Amber and speaking simultaneously. A few blinks were shared, and then Bonnie chuckled nervously. "U-uhm, I think you should go first, Lily." The small girl urged with a shooing motion of her hand. "I'm aware that I speak a little bit out of turn and perhaps too much. You need to be listened to, as well!" Delilah relaxed and gave a shrug before turning to regard Amber. "What brought me to the idea of becoming a Huntress?" She mused, pinching her chin with her thumb and forefinger. "Well, if I had to make it short..." A slightly proud smile slowly crept onto her face. "It was because I wanted to make something of myself. You see," She began to use emphasizing gestures - a hand against the chest, turns and twists of the wrists. points and waves. "Back when I was in Atlas, I wasn't anything but a mechanic. A mechanic trying to grab some funds for her in-debt mom and dad. Don't get me wrong, I liked the job, but..." She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Y'know. It's Atlas, where everything just has to be hard to get." Her expression sobered a little. She folded her arms across her chest and directed her gaze to the counter in thought. "After so much financial struggle and when my dad lost his leg in an accident, it became pretty clear that what we had wasn't gonna be enough. After a bit of discussion between us, we eventually decided on me being a Huntress - both for finances and to get me out of the rather uncomfortable work environment Atlas was known for." She chuckled softly. "Gotta admit, the idea of getting up close and personal with those things known as Grimm? It shook me up, to say the least." "As it should..." Kiarra muttered under her breath, still focused on the counter. "But, once I finished up studying in Atlas and moved onto Vale, things became a cinch." Delilah grinned cockily, turning her attention back to Amber again. "I became less of a Little Miss Shaky and a little more badass. These people around me can tell you, I've tangoed with a lot of Grimm, a lotta White Fang and I'd gladly do it again!" She emphasized it with a slamming of her fist against her palm.